Senior Procurement Specialist at World Bank

Description
Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region

• We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs.
• Yet, these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades.
• In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio of 387 projects totaling more than $48 billion in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water and sanitationall to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87% of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved.
• Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID. 
• Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Responsibilities
WB AFW is looking for a Senior Procurement Specialist:

• To improve its capacity, the World Bank West and Central Africa Procurement Unit seeks to recruit a procurement professional, capable of operating effectively in the region.
• Effective, efficient, and transparent public procurement is crucial for achieving AFW’s objectives. The procurement specialist will have to:
• Provide implementation support to the Bank’s portfolio in the country. Including through inputs for policy-based operations, hands-on implementation support and fiduciary due diligence of investment financing.
• Understand relevant procurement markets using analytical tools and approaches to define more effective procurement strategies.
• Efficiently engage in policy dialogue to help countries to reform and improve their public procurement systems.
• The Senior Procurement Specialist will be working under the oversight and mentorship of the Regional Accredited Practice Manager. The duty station for this position is Abuja in Nigeria.

Selection Criteria

• A Master's Degree with a major in a relevant field (e.g., Business Administration, Engineering, Commerce, Law, Procurement, Public Policy, etc.).
• Minimum of 8 years of proven experience in carrying out technical duties in procurement inside or outside the World Bank.
• High level of integrity.
• Excellent command of English.
• Knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices governing international procurement, with the ability to translate concepts into operational work, including but not limited to VFM, sustainable procurement, strategic sourcing, market analysis, contract management, etc...
• Ability to deal sensitively in a multi-cultural environment and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.

General Competencies:

• Good interpersonal skills and persuasiveness in presenting, discussing, and resolving highly complex issues, both orally and in writing.
• Autonomous and committed with technical quality.
• Ability to solve problems involving multiple partners and constraints.
• Analytical skills to recognize patterns, extract conclusions and formulate strategies out of information coming from multiple sources and in a variety of forms.

Specific Specialized Skills, Knowledge and Competencies:

• Knowledge of institutions and procurement reforms in Borrower’s countries.
• Understanding of the World Bank’s business objectives, products, and project cycle.
• Understanding of political economy, public policy, public systems and public management.
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of contract management tools & methodologies.
• Ability to handle complex, multi-functional, cross-regional projects/programs including maintaining relationships with partners & counterparties.
• Good understanding of risk management.

Required Language(s):

• English